by emily zola

Created on: August 17, 2008

Phillip Pullman's work should be judged on the basis of what it is: a work of fiction. Still, he does not veil his views on Catholicism and so it's fair to criticize how his presentation of those views impact The Golden Compass as a novel. This is different from criticizing his right to those views.

My complaint with the Golden Compass is not that Pullman presents a picture of the devastating and often murderous consequences of Christian dogma. Rather, it's that Pullman's characters are two-dimensional creatures, whether they are pro-Authority or anti-Authority. Curiously, the character of Mrs. Colter, a woman forced by the pressures of her church to give up her child at birth, gains little sympathy from Pullman in this first novel of the series. She's the evil witch persona that Lyra must escape from, whose soul is represented as a hideous little monkey. It would have been far more interesting if Pullman had explored how her decision might have tormented her, how it might have warred with her genuine spiritual beliefs (however misguided Pullman might believe them to be.)

In contrast, Lyra's biological father, who's had little to do with Lyra during most of her
childhood, is treated as a hero merely because he's tossed off the shackles of superstition. He's left her in a school where she's physically safe and he has little obligation towards her but to check in every once and a while when it suits his agenda. When he comes back to see her, it's because it fits into his schedule not because he exhibits any real emotion towards her. Yet this is the man Pullman seems to want Lyra to emulate. Her own mother is the evil Lyra must flee from if she wants to survive with her body and soul intact.

None of the characters reveal the potential complexities that their circumstances might have suggested. Instead, the Golden Compass is just a standard epic of good vs. evil with Pullman placing skeptics clearly on the side of good and those that embrace the Authority squarely on the side of evil. The book, like the movie, ends with an annoying cliffhanger, designed to sell the next novel/sequel. You're left with a feeling that you've sat through a curiously uninvolving experience.

So I agree that religious criticism of Pullman's work is not warranted to the extent that 1) the Golden Compass should be treated on its merits; 2) it probably gives Pullman more cachet as a writer than he deserves; 3) it's fiction not real life.

By the same token, I think that people have a right to present their views that Pullman's world is not a true reflection of the complexity that organized religion createswith it's potential for great good as well as for great harm.

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